The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is to provide support for the construction of infrastructure for a technical school in Gandaki Province. KOICA country director Sunghoon Ko expressed this commitment in a meeting with the Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel, on Thursday.
The province government is preparing to run the Gandaki Institute of Technology (GIT) through the Gandaki Technical Education and Vocational Training Academy with the objective of producing skilled technical human resources required for the province and linking the youth to employment.
The federal government has already allocated 160 ropanis lands at Gurdhum, Phedikhola Rural Municipality-1 in Syangja district for the construction of GIT. In the meeting, Chief Minister Pokharel said Nepal’s relationship with South Korea is old and thanked KOICA for its interest in supporting the technical education sector in Gandaki province.
On the occasion, KOICA country director Ko said that the Korean government is willing to invest in the development of the tourist city Pokhara. “Our main concern is how the youth of Gandaki province could be linked to employment by means of technical education,” he said, adding that he has been impressed by the preliminary proposal of the project brought by the province government.
He said how the province government runs the technical institute once the infrastructure is built is the main topic of interest. According to him, the sustainability of the project in which the Korean government has invested is a significant aspect.
The KOICA country director shared that a team from Korea will visit Pokhara for conducting a preliminary study once the proposal of the project is sent to the KOICA headquarters by the end of this year. He said the Korean government will focus more on technical assistance rather than only on monetary support for the project. KOICA is also working in the waste management sector in Pokhara.
